West Charlotte High School celebrates history by moving campus

Of all the memories that Shari Belton carries with her from West Charlotte High School, this one she didn’t have had a lasting impact.

Belton was a high school student – a proud 1991 graduate – when a younger boy approached her and asked if he could carry her books.

“I will never forget this walk from Building A to the trailers,” Belton said. “He was a gentleman. He carried my books every day. “

On Saturday among the tents that dotted his historic campus at 2219 Senior Drive, Belton and Damion Graham stood nearby.

“Thirty years from now, we’re here,” Belton said of Graham, whom she married on June 28, 2021. “He always told me that my smile made him the day he asked to carry my books.”

Hundreds of former and current West Charlotte High High School students gathered Saturday to celebrate Lion Honor Day. The school is one of the oldest public schools in Charlotte-Mecklenburg. It was founded in 1938 on the campus of the Northwestern School of the Arts and moved to Senior Drive in September 1954.

It will close its doors on June 8. In the fall, students and staff will move to a new facility under construction nearby.

“I’m sad. I’ll try not to cry today,” Belton said. High “.

But Graham, who graduated in 1992, said after more than six decades on Senior Drive: “It’s time.”

DubC Celebration

Charlotte’s Western School, affectionately known as “DubC,” is a special place for society, said Tei Young, a 1993 graduate. Young was a member of two Lyon basketball teams in 1991 and 1992.

“It’s hard because this campus is all I know,” Young said. “My brother came here. My father came here. But it also requires some modernization. It’s long overdue. “

Janet Davis Price of the 1966 class and a member of the National Charlotte High School Alumni Association said she was excited to see a new building appear at the school. She said the new facility will never take away memories.

“I will never forget the teachers who took care of their students and encouraged you to set goals and achieve them,” Price said. “Teachers at West Charlotte High saw in you what you didn’t see.”

Principal Danevin Hoskins said earlier this week when planning the celebration: “We owe it to the community to do something of proper scale to honor the legacy of the West Charlotte High School.”

An important part of Charlotte’s story

While the graduates walked around campus on Saturday and met with old friends, 85-year-old Johnny Johnson was sitting in a chair, framing two memorable souvenirs from his football games. At his feet lay his literary jacket.

Johnson, or “Hammer”, nicknamed for his skill on the field, was on the Lions team that won the first state school football championship in 1954 – the year West Charlotte High moved to its current campus on Senior Drive. .

“I’m proud that we’re moving into a new building because it’s necessary,” Johnson said. “I’m also proud of the city.”

The existing campus consists of several buildings that are being replaced by a single school building. The current brick buildings will be demolished, the school said, and will be replaced by parking lots and sports fields.

Sidney Hollingsworth, a 16-year-old sophomore at West Charlotte High High School, walked across campus on Saturday, wearing a Miss Sophomore belt after returning home.

“I like this campus, especially when it’s warm outside,” Hollingsworth said. “His story is special – it’s one of the most important black high schools in Charlotte.”

It’s bitter

The new school will have 100 classrooms and modern facilities, said Raymond Barnes, head of the Central 1 learning community community, which includes West Charlotte High High School. He called the move happy, sad and bitter.

“There’s so much history,” said Stephanie Whit-Watson of the 1990 West Charlotte High class. “I was in a band and played the clarinet. I remember that after all our football games we went to the rock (on campus), and then the band really performed. All the neighborhoods came out and looked. It was just amazing. It was electric. “